"I think it's the experience. You have to go through all the things — the good things, the bad things — and then you need to learn," said Kerber, the first German to win Wimbledon since Steffi Graf in 1996.

"I know that against Serena, I have to play my best tennis, especially in the important moments," said Kerber, who won the Australian Open and U.S. Open in 2016, but was the runner-up to Williams at Wimbledon that season, "especially in the important moments."

That's just what she did.

"Angelique played really well," Williams said. "She played out of her mind."

Kerber made only five unforced errors the entire match, 19 fewer than Williams. Perhaps more impressive was this: She broke Williams in 4 of 9 service games.

Williams gave birth only 10½ months ago, then was treated for blood clots . She wore special compression leggings as a precaution during Wimbledon, just the fourth tournament of her comeback.

After all the time away, Williams spoke about being impressed with herself for just reaching the final. She also wanted to win, of course.

"To all the moms out there, I was playing for you today — and I tried," said the 36-year-old American, her voice shaking during the trophy ceremony.

Kerber addressed Williams during the on-court interviews, saying: "You're such an inspiration for everybody, for all of us. I'm sure you will have your next Grand Slam title soon. I'm really, really sure."

Despite so much Grand Slam success, despite holding a 6-2 career edge against Kerber entering the day, Williams played tightly right from the outset.

After taking the opening two points, she made four miscues in a row to get broken. That was part of a run in which she dropped 8 of 9 points. Williams was mostly her own undoing, too: She was responsible for the final's initial six unforced errors. By the time the first set was over, the disparity was 14-3.

That's not going to work against an opponent of Kerber's quality.

Trying to sneak a ball by Kerber is something akin to trying to put one past a brick wall. There are no holes.

Kerber is much more than a defender. She has added a more aggressive element to her game in recent years and worked to improve her serve.

"I'm still sure that we haven't seen the best Angie," said her coach, Wim Fissette. "The defense is one of her qualities, but she also knows now that she's not going to win a Grand Slam with just defense, and that's, for me, very important."

Kerber was broken only once. And she delivered a pair of down-the-line forehand passing winners to grab the last break of Williams she'd need, for a 4-2 edge in the second set.

Kerber celebrated match point by covering her face and collapsing flat on her back, getting grass stains on her white outfit. She relished the moment she had dreamt about as a little kid, watching Graf on TV.

After embracing Williams, she climbed into the stands to hug Fissette and her family.

Later, Kerber sipped champagne and collected the round, purple badge given to a champion to signify membership in the All England Club.

She affixed the badge to her white T-shirt and laughed as she proudly played with it at the start of her news conference.

"Winning here, it's forever," Kerber said. "Nobody can take the title away from me now."